An Efficient Method for Evaluating the Feasibility of Spaceborne SAR for Ocean Ship Detection

TL;DR

This paper introduces a practical approach to determine if spaceborne SAR can effectively detect ocean ships, focusing on small vessel detection from low Earth orbit satellites using radar cross-section criteria.

Contribution

It proposes a novel feasibility assessment method based on radar cross-section thresholds under specified detection and false alarm probabilities.

Findings

Method successfully evaluates detectability of small ships from spaceborne SAR.

Feasibility depends on radar cross-section and satellite orbit parameters.

Provides a practical tool for designing spaceborne SAR ship detection systems.

Abstract

This letter presents an effective method for assessing the feasibility of detecting ocean ships using spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR). The technique employs the minimum detectable radar cross-section criterion under specified false alarm and detection probabilities. The benefits of the proposed method are illustrated by evaluating the feasibility of detecting small ships with SAR from a satellite in very low Earth orbit.